HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1981-08-27, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News August 27, 19$1
"How's the effluent?"
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Given a second chance...
If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more
mistakes next time. •
I'd relax, I'd limber up,, I would be sillier than I've
been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously, take more
chances, take more trips.
I'd climb more mountains, and swim more rivers. I
would eat more ice-cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd
have fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I'm one of those people who lived seriously,
sanely, hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over
again, I'd have more of them.
•
In fact, I'd try tohavenothing else, just moments, one
after the other, instead of living s� many years ahead
of each day.
I've been one of . those persons who never goes
anywhere without a thermometer, hot water bottle, a
rain coat and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter this trip.
If I had my life to live over, I would start going
barefoot earlier in the Spring.
And stay that way until Fall.
I would go to more dances. I would ride merry go -
rounds.
I would pick more daisies.
Author Unknown
Labour negotiation stupid
The total stupidity of the Canadian way of
labour negotiation, known for its irrational adver-
sary tactics, has surely reached its peak with the
settlement of the 42 -day postal strike. After all the
hardship suffered by the general public and
business, it turns out that the inside postal workers
will get what a conciliator recommended they get
two months ago.
But meanwhile, the economy lost billions of
dollars in lost cash flow, at at time when interest
rates were at the undreamed of usurious levels.
Small businesses must continue to pay, their
suppliers and creditors no matter how slow their in-
coming payments are because of the halt to postal
service. Large corporations use courier to del ver
their mail, and then tack the added cost onto their
product.
The adversary. system of labor negotiations is
slowly but surely strangling the country as the rift
continues to widen between workers and their
managers. In only a few isolated cases do labor and
management agree to get along and reach for that
common goal, increased productivity, and hence in-
creased profits and wages. Where the two sides
recognize each other's talents, where losses and
profits are shared, the working environment has
been made far happier, and the companies prosper.
Perhaps an intensive program of mutual un-
derstanding seminars should be started and put this
country back on its feet, before the strike finally
brings it to its knees.
Clinton News Record
Pub0shed EacA Wednesday Sy J.W. Eedy Publicatloe sttd.
Member:
Canadian Weekly Newspapers Assoc...ion amen* Weekly Newspapers Associet,.n
News Editor Rob Chester
Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385
Subscription Rates: $8.50 per year in advance in Canada $19.50 per year outside Canada Single copies 254
Tempus Fugit.
And it naturally goes without saying that tempus
fugits faster at sometime than at others.
Especially during vacations.
-The -past nine days (full weekend to weekend
week) has passed by so incredibly quickly. And here I
am, back at my desk, still pondering the merits of
various miscellaneous Rumblings topics.
The only thing constant is change itself, and the
spectre of mix Miscellaneous Rumblings looming
closer and closer to deadline.
Though I have often stated that the typewriter,
writer combination is for me, good therapy, the ner-
vous frustrations encountered before sitting down are
horrendous.
Currently I've polled just about everyone who
walks through the office on a topic for this week.
Of course I could write on RCMP wrongdoings.
But who is to say what is wrong? (Other than the
Royal Commission.) The radio news called it a vicious
attack on the men in red, but if there have been illegal
activities the report is not an attack, but an expose of
the dirty tricks.
The report too, is more along the line of a rec-
comendation for the future, as I for one sincerely
doubt anyone will ever be held accountable for these
activities. Best to wait for the report.
The other problem about 'commenting on reports is
that they are just . reports. They are recommendations
and not yet, if ever, laws.
The time to comment to a royal commission is
before, not after the report.
We in Canada have one of the best systems of
analyzing events in our country. We set up Royal Com-
missions to gather everything there is to be known
about the problem, to gather input and opinions and
come up with recommendations about solutions.
Perfect.
Well almost. We then set up committees to review
the commissions and usually end up throwing out the
reports. •
The Kent Commission made sweeping proposals to
straighten out the newspaper and media monopolies
in this country. Since we took the time to"do the study,
why should it not be followed? (I myself do not agree
with many of the conclusions, but I did not have the
access to the testimony and the information the com-
inission had. Out of respect for the research done, I
would suspect the recommendations are a clear-cut,
logical and well thought out solution.
But governments rarely like to do what people do
not like them to do.
They indulge in a media tactic known as trial
balloons.
A politician will stand up and make a long winded
statement which appears to be a government policy.
Tltlepressand public opinion will bat it around for a
few days and if it really was a half-baked idea, the
politician simply states he was expounding on one of
many possible courses of action.
At a conference of municipal governments in
Toronto recently it was suggested the government
may make it mandatory for all municipal council
business to be done in open sessions.
This would probably be an excellent piece of
legislation, making my job as a reporter a lot easier;
making many councils more efficient (when you get to
read about all the silly things that go on behind closed
doors) and make the flow of government - people infor-
mation smooth and more complete.
But this statement was from the same government
which is delaying passage of a freedom of information
act which would open their own operations to the com-
plete scrutiny of the press and public.
So until we finally have an honeststatement of in-
tent to act, not just opinions or comments there isn't a
whole lot to be commented upon.
Which doesn't leave me with much to write upon
this week.
And deadline is looming closer.
Tempus fugit.